REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia and Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) have got access to provide humanitarian assistance for people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

"Indonesia's access to provide humanitarian assistance (for people in Rakhine State) shows the involvement of Indonesia and ASEAN in the mechanism of distribution of humanitarian aid," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi stated in a statement from Foreign Affairs Ministry's spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir received by Antara on Monday.

Marsudi noted that the distribution mechanism of humanitarian assistance will be led by the Myanmar government and the international Red Cross, involving various countries and ASEAN, including Indonesia.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with Myanmar's State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw on Monday, Marsudi highlighted that it was necessary to immediately restore security and stability and protect all Myanmar's citizens regardless of ethnicity and religion.

"My intention of going to Myanmar is to deliver the message of Indonesian people who pay concern to the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, which has led to many casualties," she remarked.

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Earlier, Marsudi launched the Humanitarian Assistance for Sustainable Community (HASCO) program, initiated by the Humanitarian Alliance of Indonesia for Myanmar (AKIM), for the community in Rakhine State.

The humanitarian aid worth US$2 million donated by Indonesians will be channeled into a two-year series of social programs for education, health, livelihood, and post-conflict recovery.

"We hope this assistance would be sustainable and inclusive as well as empower the community in Rakhine State," the minister stated at the launch of the HASCO program in Jakarta on Thursday.

According to Marsudi, the humanitarian aid collected by 11 non-governmental organizations of AKIM demonstrates a strong synergy between the government and the Indonesian people in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.

The minister claimed that the assistance not only comes from Islamic humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) but also from institutions of other religious beliefs.

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